The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed at the Rajkot Fort in Marwan on August 26, 2024. Photo credit: PTI
An official said on Friday (October 18, 2024): “The police have arrested the makers of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharashtra Ji, which was recently installed in Maharashtra The collapse of a fort in Rabindranath’s Sindhudug district triggered a huge political row.
“Processor Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, arrested from Uttar Pradesh, used substandard material while shaping the 35-foot-tall statue of the Maratha warrior king,” he said.
“Yadav, a resident of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, was detained on Thursday (October 17, 2024) after his role in the statue toppling incident came to light,” the official said. “Yadav The task was to make the Shivaji statue by welding the various parts,” he said.
Police said the manufacturer used inferior materials to form the structure and failed to properly connect the parts through welding. “During technical analysis, it was found that the fallen steel statue was rusty in places, indicating the use of inferior materials,” he said.
After Yadav’s role in the case was established, he was also named as an accused and was arrested on Thursday (October 17, 2024). “He was produced in court and remanded in police custody for three days,” the official said.
The statue of the 17th-century founder of the Maratha Empire unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rajkot Fort in Marwant Hill in Sindhudurg district on December 4 last year (Navy Day) on August 26 amid strong winds collapse. The sculpture contractor of the statue, Jaydeep Apte, and consultant Chetan Patil were later arrested.
Published – October 18, 2024 11:08 am (IST)